Peaches and Photograph
by KC Brennan
Summary: Post-Series. Yugi photographs the precious moments in life.


"How is that possible? You've never eaten _cheese fries_?"

Yami looked at Joey pointedly, ignoring the way both him and Tristan were staring at him with wide eyes and open mouths. "Yugi hadn't eaten them while we were sharing his body, which means that I've never eaten them."

Yugi, who had been laughing behind his hand, flinched away as Joey and Tristan rounded on him instead. "You've never eaten them either? What is wrong with you two?"

Yugi gulped, eyes darting for the nearest escape, but, after they landed on Téa, seemed to think a distraction would work better. "Téa's never had them either!"

As Joey and Tristan turned to berate the fifth member of their party, Yugi let out a sigh of relief. Joey and Tristan were always scary when it came to food, if their dead-serious expressions were anything to go by. He watched as Téa attempted to defend herself, declaring that cheese fries weren't good for you, and that they themselves should switch to a healthier diet. Joey and Tristan only shook their heads at her, faces disbelieving and mournful.

Yugi reached his hand down, and, after mulling over it for a minute, dragged out a handheld camera. Joey, Tristan, and Téa, who were still engrossed in their debate over the necessity, at least for Joey and Tristan, of cheese fries, Yugi held up the camera and took a picture, smiling as he looked at the scene the camera captured. So preoccupied with this, he didn't notice Yami staring at him from the corner of his eye.

Yugi jumped as Joey suddenly stood up, thrusting his arm into the air before declaring, "That's it! We're going to go get some cheese fries right now!"

Yugi was barely able to put the camera back in his bag before Joey threw his arm around his neck, dragging him, along with his bag, out the door. Yami and Téa let out exasperated sighs as they stood to follow, Tristan trailing behind them with an expression of amusement on his face. Bakura and Duke, the only two who had been silent through the whole exchange, exchanged a look before shrugging and following along.

-X-

Téa didn't know how, but she was sure she was going to have to kill both Yami and Joey by the end of the day. Yugi wearily nodded his head up and down, fork halfway up to his mouth. His eyes were halfway open, and he looked as if he would fall asleep right then and there.

Téa sighed, putting her lunchbox back into her lap. Yugi had been slipping in and out of consciousness since lunch started, and that was only ten minutes ago. He had been like that the whole day, worrying her to the point that she had marched right up to Yami and Joey to demand what was going on with Yugi. They had told her, not looking her in the eye, that Joey had spent the night at Yugi and Yami's house the night before, and had stayed up late into the night playing duel monsters.

They didn't continue from that point, though, freezing up in fear at the livid expression on Téa's face. At least Joey did, Yami went about it in a more regal and subtle manner, but she could still tell. She had spent the last ten minutes before lunch berating them, stopping only when the teacher had glanced their way. Tristan, Bakura, Duke, and Yugi had been in the room, but the former three had been wise enough to stay out of it. Yugi was just too tired to even notice them.

She had banned them from eating with her today, grabbing Yugi by the hand and dragging him out of the classroom, taking note of the way Yugi was only able to stumble after her, bag in hand and barely awake.

Téa sighed again and looked back over at Yugi, nearly dropping her lunch in the process. Yugi was falling forward off his seat on the bleachers, his lunch slipping out of his hands as he slipped out of consciousness. She threw her arms out, catching him around the middle before he hit his head on the seat in front of him, and snapping him awake in the process.

Yugi looked around him, taking notice for the first time where he was, and looked over at Téa. Finally noticing that she was half-embracing him, he flushed leaning back into his seat and darting his eyes down to his lap. Deciding he didn't need her support anymore, she took her hands away, ignoring the sudden warmth that was creeping into her cheeks.

It took a few moments of awkward silence, but Yugi finally looked back up at her, his face almost back to its regular color and a sheepish grin on his face. "Sorry, Téa. I've just been really tired today."

Téa stared blankly at him, making Yugi wonder if he was about to be lectured, when she reached over and grabbed his lunch and put it off to the side with hers. Yugi looked at her with confusion, opening his mouth to ask her what she was doing, when she reached back over and gently grabbed his face.

Yugi felt the surprise appearing on his face as she pulled it down into her lap, making him rest the side of his head against her lap. She waited for a few moments, letting out a sigh when he didn't move, and reached out to stretch out his legs on the bleacher.

Yugi slanted his eyes to look up at her. "What are you doing, Téa?"

She only smiled down at him, moving her hand to run her fingers through his hair. "You've been exhausted the whole day, Yugi. I think it would probably be best if you spent the lunch catching up on your sleep. So go to sleep."

Yugi stared at her for a little longer, but felt the tension leaving his body as she continued to run her hand through his hair. Téa smiled a little as she felt his breath evening out as he fell asleep. They stayed that way for a little while, enjoying the quiet, when someone had to come along and interrupt it.

"Téa, Yami and Joey say they're sorry, so can you guys come ba-?" Bakura stopped his sentence upon seeing the two of them. Téa watched as his brain slowly recognized what he was seeing, a small smile curling onto his face. "We'll just see you back in class." And with that, he left them alone again.

Téa turned back to look down at Yugi, feeling herself blush at how cute he looked at the moment. Looking over at Yugi's bag, she carefully reached over to it, taking care not to wake him, and pulled out his handheld camera. Positioning the camera so that Yugi looked just right in the lens, she took a picture.

-X-

Dueling Yugi, even when he lost, was probably always going to be his favorite thing to do. Yami looked across the arena at Yugi, who was grinning in excitement at having won. Yami smirked back at him, happy that Yugi was enjoying himself. He tucked his hands into his pockets, taking care not to poke himself in the side with the duel disk, and began to walk toward the slightly smaller boy, the crowd around them erupting into cheers from their duel.

Yugi had bent down to retrieve something from his pocket, he noticed, and pulled out a handheld camera. Yami stopped as Yugi held up a hand for him to stop, one eyebrow rising while the smirk stayed on his face. Yugi took proceeded to take a picture of him, grinning even more as he looked at the captured image on the camera, before walking over towards Yami. They both met in the middle, clasping their hands together in the customary handshake, before turning back to the stands.

The gang, who had been watching from the stands, was one step ahead of the two, though, as they ran toward them, Seto and Mokuba coming with them, but following at a slower pace. Yugi barely had time to snap a picture of all of them before he and Yami were both glomped.

-X-

"Hey Yug', isn't it about time you asked Téa out on a date?"

Bakura thought Yugi was going to choke as he spit out his water, rounding on Joey with a furiously red face. "W-What are you talking about?"

Yami leaned in towards Yugi, amusement clearly written all over his face. "I've been wondering that, too. Are you going to ask her out, or will I have to set you up on a surprise date with her? I've learned that that method is successful, seeing how you used it on me."

Tristan nodded in agreement, sending a sly smile in Yugi's direction. "It's kinda obvious, dude. You've had a crush on her for, like, _ever_."

Duke put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair. "I don't know why you haven't done it yet. You just go up to her and ask. It's not that hard."

"What's not that hard?"

Everyone male in the room froze in shocked silence, except for Duke, who had fallen off his chair. Téa stood in the doorway to the classroom, tilting her head to the side as she regarded them all in question. Yugi flushed furiously and darted his eyes away, looking for anything to change the subject. Yami was just about to step in and help him, but Téa chose that moment to speak up. "What are you guys hiding from me?"

The dry tone was met with more silence, only now it possessed a nervous edge as all the guys, including Duke, who was still laying on the floor, turned to stare at Yugi. This in turn led Téa to stare at Yugi, resulting in Yugi to flare up even more. Tristan was sure that Yugi was about to have a heart attack.

Before anything else could be said, though, Yugi whipped out his camera and took a picture of all of them, making them all blink for a few seconds from the flash. When he took the camera away from his face, Joey was surprised to see Yugi's face back to normal. "It was nothing important, Téa, just something about homework. Um, is everyone ready to go to my house?"

They all stared at Yugi as he stood up and walked past Téa into the hallway, turning back to wait for them to follow, his face slipping a bit as sadness and slight traces of pain spread onto his face. Téa looked unconvinced, worry working its way onto her own face, but seemed to let it go as she followed him. After taking one look at her face, though, all the guys left in the room knew that they were soon going to be hunted down and interrogated. Just not right now, and not when Yugi was around.

-X-

Everyone, he decided, was first going to kill him, and then go kill the stupid punk who decided to corner him after school. His bruised cheek was still throbbing, bringing out a wince when he raised his fingers to tentatively touch it. He knew he should have taken Yami up on his offer to stay with him after school.

He stopped a few stores away from the Game Shop, where everyone had decided to meet up after school, and reached his hand down into his bag. Pulling out his handheld camera, he turned around to take a picture of himself. He looked down at the captured image and grimaced, seeing that the bruises dotting his face made him look terrible.

Yugi sighed, putting his camera back in his bag, before making his way towards the Game Shop.

-X-

Yami stared as Yugi hooked his camera up to the computer and proceeded to download all his pictures. He had taken a lot over the past few weeks, and usually when they were all together. Yami sat up on the couch and turned to face Yugi.

"Why have you been taking so many pictures of everyone, Yugi?"

Yugi paused, his fingers hovering over the mouse, before turning to look back at Yami. From what Yami could see on the screen, Yugi was about to print all of the pictures out.

"Is there something wrong with it?"

Yami shook his head quickly. "No, I'm just curious."

Yugi stared at him for a few seconds before a bright smile split onto his face. "Ever since I solved the Millennium Puzzle, we've all become friends, and have been through so much together. We were even able to find a way to let you stay here and live with us. These pictures are just reminders that I couldn't be any happier then I am now."

Yami felt his face soften as he smiled, something that happened often when it was just him and Yugi. "I wouldn't have it any other way, either."

Yugi smiled back at him, and Yami had the urge to take a picture of the sheer warmth and light that smile embodied.

-X-

"You are in love with me."

Téa cornered him in his kitchen, the waft of chocolate cookies hanging in the air and the gang sitting in the living room, most likely eavesdropping on the two of them. Yugi sputtered incoherently for a few moments, his face flaming up, but couldn't think of anything to say to that statement. Téa gave him a deadpan look. "There's no use trying to deny it. I got a hold of Joey and Tristan after school let out."

_Damn Joey and Tristan!_

Seeing as how Yugi was still imitating a goldfish, Téa let out a sigh and leaned in closer to him, her face turning oddly pink. "Well, since it looks like you're not going to say anything anytime soon, I think I'll just go ahead and do this." With that, she leaned forward to press her lips against his.

Yugi felt his eyes fly open as his mind blanked, so overwhelmed with the knowledge that his childhood friend was now kissing him, her lips parting slightly to allow her tongue to trail across the opening to his mouth. He could feel his body relaxing as his mind slowly came back to him, but before he could open his mouth to start kissing her back, he heard a soft click.

The two broke apart, turning their heads as one towards the living room door, where Joey, Tristan, Yami, Bakura, and Duke were staring at them, wide, mischievous grins plastered across their faces, as Joey waved the camera around in the air. "This is going to be prize blackmail material!"

Téa, of course, proceeded to lecture them about how rude it was to eavesdrop on other people, her face growing steadily redder, but still reached over to take his hand into hers. Yugi couldn't help smiling as she gave his hand a squeeze, knowing without words that there was a silent _I love _you hidden in that message.

He probably would never feel as happy as he felt now, even if the guys were going to tease the two of them mercilessly about this for the next several years to come.


End file.
